The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards relate to wireless local area networks (WLANs) utilizing 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz frequency bands. The IEEE 802.15.3 family of standards relate to wireless Personal Area Network (PANs), including the IEEE 802.15.3c standard that defines a millimeter-wave-based physical layer that operates in a 57-64 GHz unlicensed band.
At least in part due to the different operating frequencies, an 802.11 WLAN may be more suitable for some applications than an 802.15 PAN, and vice-versa. Further complicating matters, various parameters, such as mobility of devices and changing environmental conditions may also mean that the optimal type of network in a given environment changes over time.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a system that provides the benefits of both networks and adapts to changing network environments.